Three Days
by Tadpole24
Summary: Her biggest fear was not leaving behind a legacy before her death, but right now, it is being trampled by the irrational fear that she had not only missed her chance, but ruined a unique and highly needed friendship. BB tag for 6x09


**Well, this was going to be a little post episode tag, but I got carried away and it turned into this :) I hope you like it. Spoilers for anything up to 6x09, The Doctor in the Photo.**

**This one goes out to my boyfriend, Adrian, who may not ever read this, but thank you for putting up with my Bones obsession. I love you.**

**This has only had one read through, so apologies for any typo's, just let me know if you see any. Thanks. **

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned Bones, if only to push the Emmy committee to give Emily Deschanel an Emmy...but alas, I do not own it...not one little bit.**

**Enjoy.**

..:::..

Three Days

..:::..

It's hard at first. She never expected it to be easy. She lays awake most of the night thinking about life and how it can change in a second. She thinks about the glimmer of hope one person can hold within them, only to have it dimmed in one fleeting moment...the blink of an eye and quietened words, "I'm with someone now." Life changes that quickly.

She cries. More than she used to...a lot more. She figures that's a sign of her own physical changing; she lets her walls down more often now. She lets people in. And it hurts her. It feels like a fist is constantly gripping her heart, it feels like her stomach is a lot heavier than it should be...she feels like a lovesick teenager. But she can see now, that letting people in means that her biggest fear will never come to fruition...people will notice if she's gone. She won't leave this world without leaving a mark.

Perhaps it is that thought which starts to makes things alright.

She cries for 3 nights...she sleeps for none of those. And then on the fourth night, Angela sends her a text asking if she could eat one croissant...just one. She has included a sequence of pretty please's and somehow woven in offerings of many expensive things just for one pastry. Brennan laughs and sends back a short message, "Half, save some for me."

It's not much, but sharing that honey soaked croissant with Angela and laughing about the sticky mess they'd made takes her mind away from everything else.

She sleeps without a single tear that night.

..:::..

The first three days were a hurdle and the next few weeks are the next hurdle. She takes on Christmas with a winning ease, inviting the Jeffersonian team for dinner. At New Years, much to everyone's surprise, she kisses, in a platonic nature, Vincent Nigel Murray at midnight, giggling with a glass of champagne in her hand. And as February approaches her heart is the furthest from pain it has been in a long, long time.

They've been working their cases with the usual vigour and as they stand side by side posing for America's top forensic journal, the photographer yells in a strong British accent for them to 'snog'. The partners look awkwardly at each other before Brennan's publicist whispers a quick word to the photographer, who obviously hasn't researched his clients too well.

But that moment is still lingering in the air and after five more shots, the photographer says that he's got what he needs for the article.

Booth takes off quickly after the shoot and Brennan feels a tug in her stomach, as though something she has hidden away is trying to escape. Her biggest fear was not leaving behind a legacy before her death, but right now, it is being trampled by the irrational fear that she had not only missed her chance, but ruined a unique and highly needed friendship.

..:::..

Three days pass and nobody sees Booth. He sends a text to every phone that has called him since he walked out of the photo shoot to makes sure they know he's OK, but he needs some time. Brennan asks if he needs time and space. He doesn't respond and her heart aches again with a pain that never really went away. She wonders if she had damaged him this much a little over a year ago on the steps of the Hoover building and she regrets it a little more.

And then he returns and she sees a difference in him. He seems lighter, but not free of his burdens.

She learns from him that things with Hannah weren't working anymore. She was too free spirited to be tied to one person; one place. She had wings that needed to be spread. He was too sturdy and rooted to one place. His wings had been clipped a long time ago by a son and a woman whom he would never fall out of love with.

They go on solving cases and Thai food and beer make an appearance back in her diet. Sweets start's writing his new masterpiece on them and their relationship, making sure he gets the details right this time. She goes on sharing pastries with Angela and talking about things which make her remember what keeps her smiling. Cam joins them sometimes and they laugh about Hodgins being 'King of the Lab'. For his part Hodgins takes her to see Zach on a regular basis and things feel normal again. They feel better than normal...they feel damn good. She smiles more and she knows it's because she has friends surrounding her.

..:::..

On a sunny morning in May she finds herself walking along by the Reflecting Pool. She knows it's irrational, but she tosses a penny in, closes her eyes and makes a wish. When her eyes pop open again and focus, she sees her wish come true. Booth walks towards her with a smile on his face.

He stops just shy of her personal space and asks her if she believes in fate.

She thinks about the woman she was just 3 days after she had met this man for the first time...her whole world had been turned upside down and she hadn't given herself time to adjust and see that this man was the one who could change her.

Seven years down the track she can finally see that without Booth who could have brought her out of her shell? Who could have taught her about the different types of families? Who could have shown her that love exists? Who could have proven that sometimes, no matter what the circumstances, some people just don't leave?

Something brought that person into her life.

So with a smile, finally on the same page, she says, "Yes."

..:::..

**Let me know how you went.**


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